


saving eleanor

by ehyziuwu



Category: IT (Movies - Muschietti)
Genre: F/M, M/M, Slow Burn, The Losers Club, no pennywise this time
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-01
Updated: 2021-01-03
Packaged: 2021-03-10 17:54:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,329
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28451223
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ehyziuwu/pseuds/ehyziuwu
Summary: when an unlikely group of 7 meet through pure chance and form a band, where will it go? way further than they anticipated.---trigger warnings:- abuse mentions- drugs- heavy topics (sh, ed, suicide)- violencework in progress!
Relationships: Ben Hanscom/Beverly Marsh, Bill Denbrough/Beverly Marsh, Eddie Kaspbrak/Richie Tozier





	1. meeting richie

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bev meets a familiar face in detention.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey! i rewrote all the current chapters!

December 4th, 5:15 pm  
Derry, Maine.

Detention was a thing Beverly Marsh was well acquainted with. She often would get caught smoking behind the gym, vandalizing the bathroom stalls and being an overall troublemaker. She was the general advisor’s worst nightmare. Not to mention how the janitor must feel with him having to clean up her messes. There had been several occasions where she had scribbled all over the bathroom stalls so much, they had to attach a shitty ‘Out of Order’ sign to it for days while the janitor rid the walls of her ‘art’. 

Bev sighed as she clutched her patchy bag’s shoulder strap, pink slip in her lanky, pale hand. She listened as her sneakers squeaked against the linoleum floors, enjoying the noise despite it being like nails on a chalkboard to others. She absolutely hated silence; it was all too loud for her liking. When things were quiet, you had time to think. All your worries, traumas and insecurities come out when it’s silent. It was unnatural, in a way. 

The halls that were once bustling with eager to leave students were now barren and empty. The time was exactly 5:16 pm on December 4th. It was almost 11 days away from winter break. Finals were whipping everyone’s asses and the end of the semester was always a tough time. From projects to standardized testing, everyone was stressed at this time. Bev never really cared much about her grades. She was gifted in elementary school, but when she got older, things just seemed to get darker and darker. She felt as if she was stuck in a big, dark tunnel with no escape. It was getting longer as the light at the end got smaller. But she often found herself invested in art assignments and projects. Beverly had 5th period ceramics and 3rd period ‘artist within’ which was pretty much just a painting class. 

She laughed as she thought about her artist within teacher. She was a bit of a nut-job, in a way. Have one conversation with her, and she’ll be telling you about the faeries in her garden and the trolls living under her floorboards. Bev knew the old lady had good intent, though. They were rather close at this point; Bev had been in her class every year for all 4 years, so it gave them time to speak. After class, she often skipped lunch to help Ms. McClellan clean her room and set up for next class. Bev would take it as a chance to paint more. She had gotten rather good at the art over time. She passed artist within with flying colors every single year without fail. She never even got below a B.

Bev glanced around at the blue lockers as she approached the stairwell. Detention was held in the tiny basement, specifically in the old music room. The school caved recently and decided to fund the arts department after there were school-wide protests and out roar. The music department barely got a quarter of what the sports one got, but it was enough to keep them running. With that, they got a new, snazzy classroom. It left the old one abandoned where they then held detention. Bev shrugged as she thought about the situation. She never really took the school as a hippie art place, but it appears there’s more art and music kids than she thought. Bev loved to sing, she also played ukulele. She had gotten very good at the small instrument and she’d been singing since she was very, very young. It was one of her biggest passions aside from painting.

This time, she had gotten detention for smoking again. Realistically, she’d only been caught smoking once or twice before, but it’s enough to get the higher-ups angry at you. Bev loved the burn in her lungs the smoke gave her, she loved to watch the smoke smoothly flow out of her mouth. She was pretty much addicted, though. Nicotine was incredibly addictive, and she was hooked on those tiny cancer sticks. Maybe one day she’d quit, but not anytime soon. Bev had an incredibly addictive personality, anything that could possibly get her hooked, will. For example, all throughout school, she was relentlessly bullied by the other girls. They would call her fat, despite Bev being fairly thin. This led to Bev binging and purging, counting calories, and going days without having a real meal. She also seemed to have an issue with types of self-harm. She had never cut, although she was tempted to. But after she was done with a cigarette, she would often put them out on her arms. This had her wear cardigans and hoodies, no matter the weather.

Bev sighed as he pulled her white, knitted cardigan over her hands. She was dressed in a brown, cropped tank top that barely passed the dress code and some flowy, mandala decorated pants. Her cardigan was white, and it reached down to her knees. She was only 5’0, so this specific cardigan was probably made for someone taller than her. Her shoes were just some scuffed up, white converse she’s had since she was in the 8th grade. She picked at the paint on her hands before she looked up to see she was finally at the stairwell. ‘took long enough,’ she thought, huffing lightly before gripping onto the railing. A smile creeped onto Bev’s face as she jumped down the steps, skipping one or two at a time. She giggled as she lost her balance, slipping and falling down onto her butt. She let out another chuckle, sitting down on one of the last steps to catch her breath. She leaned back onto the stair above the one she was sitting on, staring up at the ceiling. Bev furrowed her brows as the light from the stairwell above her was clouded. She sat up, turning around to meet the face of an awkward looking boy. He was lanky and tall, around 5’8 or 5’7. He had a pair of chunky glasses on his face and wildly curly hair. The boy put a hand on his hip, raising his eyebrow as Bev.

“Did you fall down the stairs? That’d be pretty fuckin’ funny,” He said quickly, words flowing out of his mouth at top speed. Bev laughed, wobbling slightly as she stood. She dusted off her pants and adjusted her bag before speaking to the other. “I did fall, too bad no one was here to record it,” She said, shrugging her shoulders as she continued to smile at the other.

“Fuck,” He said, snapping his finger. The boy laughed before sticking his hand out awkwardly. “I’m Richie,” He said, trying to be friendly for once. Bev looked down at his hand then back up at him. He was wearing a bright Hawaiian button-up over a white t-shirt. He had black jeans on and some white shoes. They didn’t seem to be any big brand. Bev nodded, shaking his hand after a very short pause. “Bev,” She said politely, putting her hand back on her side once the handshake was over.

“You headin’ to detention?” Richie asked, gesturing to the detention room. Bev nodded, looking towards the room. “Yeah, Mr. Wilson caught me smoking behind the bleachers,” She shrugged, chuckling lightly. Richie laughed along with her. “Mr. Wilson is definitely a character, one time, he talked about frogs with that weird kid for all of free-time,” He paused for a second “Pretty fuckin’ weird if you ask me,” Richie blurted out. 

“You sure do cuss like a sailor,” Bev laughed as he began walking towards the detention room. Richie followed next to her, shrugging his shoulders. “I think my way of speaking is amazing,” He said, holding a hand to his chest in faux offense. Bev laughed as they reached the door. She quickly took out her sharpie, looking around quickly. “Cover me,” She said. Richie stood next to her, covering what she was doing from the view of anyone else. No one else was in the hallway, but just to make sure. 

She uncapped the sharpie, getting some on her hand. She was unfazed as she drew her signature smiley face on the door. Richie looked down at the smiley face and grinned. “You’re the one who keeps drawing on the stalls?” Richie asked, bending down to look at the smiley face. “Yeah, you’ve seen them?” She said, capping the sharpie and quickly pocketing it.

Richie looked down at Bev, laughing a bit. “Yeah, pretty much everyone has,” He shrugged. Bev snorted, shaking her head lightly. “I think you’re overexaggerating, trashmouth,” She said, side eyeing Richie and smiling. Bev had always had a knack for feeling the vibes of someone she just met. She was good at seeing what kind of person they were just on the energy they gave off. She felt something good would come of this, she felt comfortable with her new friend.

Richie blinked confusedly, staring at Bev for a few seconds before speaking. “So, you know me?” He asked, feeling a weird sense of pride. Richie was popular around school, no denying that. Probably just for the wrong reasons. He often got into fights. He was getting severely bullied and felt the need to stand up for himself. He also tried his best to stand up for the younger kids getting harassed. Richie saw himself in these kids and as much as Richie hated to admit it, he had a soft spot for them.

Bev nodded as she leaned against the wall by the door. ‘five minutes’ she thought to herself as she checked her watch. She looked back up at Richie. “I’ve seen you getting into fights on Jackie Barker’s shitty Instagram feed. Can’t believe she would post it and ruin her aesthetic,” Bev grinned, doing jazz hands once she said aesthetic. Bev had always hated that stupid word.

“I’m flattered she would even post me,” Richie said, holding a hand to his chest and lifting his chin up. “She posts herself on there all the time, she doesn’t have a problem uploading embarrassing things,” She smiled, wiggling her eyebrows at Richie. “Hey! I’m not embarrassing, I’m cool,” He said, fake offense in his voice. “Whatever helps you sleep at night,” She giggled. The two broke out in laughter, Richie leaning down to catch his breath. Just as their laughs subsided, they looked each other in the eyes. Then the giggling came back once more.

“Stop laughing, dumbass!” Richie said between giggles. “you stop laughing!” Bev said as her laughing calmed down. Richie followed soon behind her. They stood there, catching their breaths. Bev looked over at Richie and smiled at him. “What’s your Instagram?” She asked, taking out her phone. She opened her Instagram and handed Richie the phone. He took it lightly in his hand, examining the case before typing in his handle. The case was a nice, marble designed one. The headphone jack had a cute silicone cat hanging from it with some tassels. He handed back the phone after hitting the follow button.

“What’s that cat hanging from your headphone thingy?” Richie asked, pointing to the cat. Bev smiled, looking at the kitty. “It’s Chi! From Chi’s sweet home. It’s like, a kid’s anime,” She said as he put her phone in her pocket. “Wow, nerd alert,” Richie joked, looking over at Bev before speaking again. “He’s cute, did you watch it as like, a kid?” He questioned as he picked at a scab on his knuckles. Bev nodded “Yeah, it’s cute,” she smiled. Richie nodded, opening his mouth to speak before he saw the teacher and a few students approach the class. The two shared a look before walking into the class.

And that was just the beginning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hope you enjoyed!


	2. farmers market blues

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eddie had a hard time making new friends. He was an anxious wreck the majority of the time. When Eddie's mom decides the farmers market is the only place ""pure food"" is sold, Eddie meets a homeschooled kid whos moving to his school next semester.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HII i fixed up this chapter, too!

Saturday, December 5th, 8:21 am.  
Derry, Maine. 

Eddie glanced over his appearance in the mirror as he anxiously fiddled with his plain black fanny pack. He was dressed in his usual attire, a t-shirt with his red shorts. He frankly hated the look, but his mother said it was nice. She decided everything for him, it really made him resent her in a way. He had no control over anything in his life. His mother trying to convince him he’s sick. Eddie knew his medicine were placebos, but he took them anyways. It made him feel better, what if he was sick and he’s just dramatic? What if she was right? The thought that she might be right was terrifying to Eddie in a way. He smoothed down his shirt for the 10th time in the past 5 minutes, seriously thinking he should just stay home.

“Eddie. Would you be a dear and hand me the brush?” His mother, Sonia said sweetly. She was standing at the door to the bathroom, gazing at him with a hint of an emotion Eddie didn’t quite understand. He didn’t know if she absolutely despised him, or if she just had trouble expressing love. Sometimes, Eddie felt as if her smiles were faked and her love was artificial. He just felt so out of control. He felt as if he was just a toy for her to mentally fuck with. Maybe she knew she was damaging him, maybe she didn’t. “Yeah, sure,” he said, forcing out a smile. He handed her the brittle brush that had to be ancient at this point. It was wooden and getting splinters was an average occurrence. The wax heads on the bristles had fallen off, making it incredibly painful to use anywhere near your scalp. His mother smiled once more, taking the brush slowly as she began to brush her thin hair. She stared at him for a second before turning slowly and walking out of the room. Eddie let out a sigh before grabbing the inhaler sitting on the counter, stuffing it into his fanny pack along with his medicines. He checked his watch before heading out of the bathroom shortly behind his mother.

Eddie walked down the hallway, looking at each picture hung on the wall. Some of Eddie as a baby, some of his mother and extended family. Some of the people he didn’t even recognize. He stopped at a picture of Eddie when he was much younger, maybe 8 or 9. He was nearly 18 at this point, almost halfway through his senior year. He shook his head with a sigh as he continued down the hall. He rounded the corner, smiling at his mother who was standing by the door. Eddie approached the coat rack and slipped on his oversized, black jacket. It was a hand-me-down, so he didn’t get to choose the size.

“Do you have your inhaler?” Sonia asked as she took the keys from the shelf by the door. Eddie nodded, opening his fanny pack, taking it out to show her. “And your medicine? You know you have to take them soon, don’t you?” she said, almost like she was accusing him of something horrible. He nodded once more, taking out the small pill bottle. His mother furrowed her brows, giving him a light glare before turning on her heels and opening the door. Eddie let out a nearly inaudible sigh before following her out the door.

The two walked out of the house, Sonia turning back around to lock the door. She struggled with the lock for a second before it clicked shut. She smiled at Eddie as she passed him. Eddie followed close behind her to their beat up, super old brown-ish car. He had always hated the color and style, but he didn’t have much control over it. He had his own car at this point, it was a piece of shit, though. It was white and the outside looked nice, but it barely ran. Eddie just opted to bike almost everywhere. He pulled his sweater sleeves over his hands and crossed his arms over his chest. He exhaled to watch the white smoke-like cloud float up into the air and disappear. He smiled as he did it once more. Eddie looked around as he questioned when it would snow this year. Usually, around this time, there would already be snow covering every surface. He smiled lightly as he remembered Richie, his best friend, liked to blame it all on global warming, which might be true.

Eddie reached out to open the car door, quickly recoiling his hand back. The car was so cold, it almost felt hot. He sighed as he pulled his sweater sleeve over his whole hand, opening the door. He slid into the passenger seat, quickly going to buckle in. He shifted in his seat, getting comfortable. The drive was at least 15 minutes, which was a while for Derry. It was such a small town; it generally only took 5 or 10 minutes to get anywhere. The drive was quiet, neither of them wanting to say anything. Things have always been awkward between the two. Eddie’s mother was incredibly controlling, and Eddie was an anxious wreck all the time. Anxious and control freak were never a good pair. 

Eddie sighed, hearing a ding from the phone in his pocket. He opened it to see it was a message from Richie. He smiled, ears and cheeks dusting a light pink. ‘Hey eds, wanna hang today?’ the message read. He frowned as he realized he wouldn’t be able to, his mother wouldn’t allow it. Eddie loved his friend dearly, maybe more than another boy should. He would never admit it out loud, but he had feelings for the other. ‘sorry dude, moms making me go to the farmer’s market. she probably won’t let me go anywhere after,’ Eddie messaged back, quickly adding another text. ‘also don’t call me that >:(‘ he smiled as he sent the message. He quickly stuffed his phone into his pocket, leaning his head against the glass of the car window. He watched as the trees flew by and the kids played in their yards. He loved people watching, it was calming in a way. He often wished he were invisible so he could just watch people forever.

After 10 minutes of pure silence, they arrived at the farmer’s market. Eddie’s mom parked messily, quickly turning off the car.“Alright! We’re here, Eddie-bear,” She said, smiling ear to ear. She searched around in the back seat for her purse, quickly finding it and beginning to shuffle through it, making sure she had everything. Just as Eddie was about to get out of the car, his mom stopped him. “You have your inhaler, right?” She asked worriedly. Eddie sighed, rechecking to make sure. Just as he had remembered, it was right where he put it. “Yeah, I showed you before we left,” Eddie huffed out, feeling unusually aggravated. He never really was the easily annoyed type; he wasn’t quick to anger. He just felt so done with everything.

“Eddie! don’t speak to me like that! I’m your mother,” she said angrily, accentuating the word ‘mother’. He rolled his eyes before getting out of the car, slamming the door. His mother followed, struggling a bit to stand up. “You are so disrespectful! What happened to my Eddie-bear?” She seethed. Just as Eddie began walking forward to cross the street, she grabbed his hand and squeezed as hard as she could. Her eyes looked wild as she stared him down. “Ow! Mom, you’re hurting me!” Eddie yelled, trying to pull his hand away. Sonia laughed before sharply letting go of his hand. “You’re lucky we’re in public,” She said, looking him up and down before walking across the street.

“You better be good, I’ll allow you to walk about, but you better come back to the car when I text you,” She bossed, not looking at him. “Okay,” He said quietly. Eddie found it way easier to just agree with her. When he disagreed, it went bad. She would freak out, crying and yelling. She would tell him she’s just worried for him, all she wanted was his health to improve. But sometimes she also threatened him like earlier. Sonia had never hit Eddie, at least not often.

He sighed as his mother wandered off. He glanced around at all the stands, his eyes landing on a meat seller. There was a scruffy looking man at the booth, white beard and dark skin. He definitely looked older, maybe in his 50s. Just as Eddie was about to look away, the scruffy old man stepped away, a younger man taking his place. Eddie raised an eyebrow, recognizing him as the boy who had been home-schooled his whole life. Not many people were homeschooled in Derry and word passed around quick in such a small town. He had heard this kid was transferring over to the same school Eddie went to, that’s really the only reason he recognized him. He shrugged, deciding to talk to the boy. It couldn’t hurt to talk to someone new, and maybe exposure therapy would help his social anxiety. Eddie trudged over to where he was. There wasn’t a line, thankfully. Not much demand for meat at 8 in the morning he assumed.

Eddie reached the booth, looking at the homeschooled boy. He was rather attractive to Eddie. He was pretty in a way. He had darker skin, much like the old man who was there earlier. He had beautiful brown eyes and his hair was done short and neatly, shaved on the sides. The boy looked up at Eddie, smiling lightly. “Hey, what’d you need?” He asked politely, getting ready to search for a meat. “Oh, you’re the homeschooled guy, right?” Eddie asked, his tone sounded nervous, but he really wasn’t. He spoke rather fast, making him sound anxious. “Yeah. Not for much longer, though,” He said, tapping on the booths table while they spoke. He held himself confidently.

“I heard. I’m Eddie,” He said, not looking him in the eyes. Eye contact scared Eddie. The boy smiled at Eddie, twiddling with the tooth necklace he was wearing, “I see, I’m Mike,” Mike said, taking off his glove and sticking his hand out towards the other boy. Eddie reached out and shook Mike’s hand. The two smiled at each other, it going quiet for a second before Mike spoke. “Technically, my named Michael, but that’s less cool,” He shrugged, just trying to make friends. It would be good for him, especially with moving schools. “Michael Jackson would disagree,” Eddie said quickly, picking at his nails. Mike laughed, nodding. “I see, I guess he would be,” he said jokingly.

“Well Mike, you going to Clearwater?” Eddie asked, not really knowing where he was going with this. Mike thought for a second before speaking. “I am, actually. Do you go there?” He questioned, already knowing the answer. It seemed obvious, he just thought he should ask. “I do, we should hang out. I only really have one friend,” Eddie laughed, taking out his phone. “Can we share numbers?”. Mike nodded, taking off his other glove and taking his phone out of his pocket. Once Eddie was ready, Mike read off his phone number. Eddie put it in his phone, smiling.

Just as Eddie was going to speak, his phone made a loud ‘ding!’. He sighed as he saw it was his mother telling him they were done. “My mom just texted me, if I don’t go to the car, she’ll leave without me,” Eddie half joked. Mike laughed, nodding his head. “Well, that’s okay. It was nice meeting you!” He said, smiling from ear to ear. “I’ll cya later!” Eddie said while waving. He then quickly began to jog to the car. Not too fast, his asthma would act up if he ran too quickly.

Eddie was just happy to have possibly made a new friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey! this has been so fun to write. feedback appreciated! <3 
> 
> I'm trying to make their personalities super accurate, i rewatched both the movies 2 times and took hella notes!


	3. Calculus and Comic shops

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ben makes a new friend in his new calculus class while Bev searches for Christmas presents.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> kinda a short one! it gets more interesting, i promise!

Monday, December 7th, 8:23 am.

Derry, Maine. 

Ben stared down at his newly printed schedule as his stomach twisted and turned. He wasn’t new to the school, but he was definitely new to Mr. Wilson’s 1st period calculus class. He was having issues consistently with his last calculus teacher, Ms. Peterson. She would single him out, asking him questions she knew he didn’t know the answer to, purposefully embarrassing him in front of the whole class. Ben had issues with weight and eating. He rarely ever ate due to his family not having much money to put food on the table, but his body held onto the weight it already had. Ben personally thought he looked nice, he didn’t hate his weight, but Ms. Peterson took that as ammo. One time, she even called him up after class and passive aggressively questioned him about his weight. She covered it up as a ‘I’m just worried about you’ shtick. Her fatphobia was really starting to get to Ben when he hadn’t been self-conscious before.

After one specifically bad day in her class, he stormed out to the counselor’s office and demanded to be put in another class. He had good grades, so the counselor didn’t have much issue transferring him. Ben rarely stood up for himself like that, but he thought it was good to start now. He wouldn’t take the bullying anymore; he was stronger than that.

Ben fiddled with his ‘New Kid on The Block’ band bracelet he got off Etsy for cheap as he began his journey into the class. It was 5 minutes before class started, so there were only two or three other students in the room. He glanced around the brightly lit area, furrowing his brows when he spotted a lankly, curly haired boy. He was dressed in a light blue polo shirt and some khaki shorts. He was looking at his phone, probably scrolling through social media. He looked bored. Ben decided he would approach him, maybe it could be good. He looked friendly enough.

He made his way over to the other boy, clutching onto his backpack strap. He felt anxiety butterflies in his stomach, Ben was bad at making friends due to his awkward nature, approaching people was a difficult feat. “Uh, hey, is this seat taken?” Ben asked awkwardly, looking down at him. The boy looked up at him, smiling lightly. “No, you can have it,” He said, setting his phone down onto the desk face-first. “Oh, cool,” Ben said, plopping down into the seat before hanging his bag over the back of the chair.

“I’ve seen you around,” The boy said as he turned his body to Ben. It was obvious he wanted to talk to him and that comforted Ben in a way. “Oh, you have?” Ben asked, smiling. He didn’t really think anyone noticed him more than just some random kid. He felt his anxieties wash away at the other’s calmer nature. “Yeah, you play the drums in the music room during lunch sometimes. I hide in the closet,” He said casually, pausing before speaking one more. “I’m stan,” He smiled, sticking his thin hand out towards Ben. Ben glanced down at the hand before taking it, giving him a firm handshake.

“I’m Ben,” He mumbled out. Stan raised an eyebrow as ben went to pull his hand away. Stan gripped his hand lightly, pulling it up to his face to look at his bracelet. “New Kids on The Block,” Stan said bluntly, giving Ben a smile before letting go of the other’s hand. “You like them, too?” Ben asked excitedly, taking his hand back to look at his bracelet.“Hell yeah, dude. They rock,” Stan said, leaning back into his chair.

“Y’know ben, you’re cool,” He added on, taking out his phone. “Thanks, you seem cool, too,” Ben smiled, looking down at Stan’s phone. The case was clear with blue lining on the sides. There was money stuffed into the back of the case.

Stan leaned over, handing his phone to ben. “Type in your insta,” He said. Ben nodded, turning to the phone. He typed in his username. ‘benhanscomizcool’ He quickly followed the account, handing the phone back to Stan. Stan smiled as he scrolled through the pictures of Ben and his pets. There weren’t many photos, but they were all well taken.

“These pictures are really good,” Stan said, finally closing his phone and setting it down. “Thank you! I took them with a real camera,” He said, turning to his bag to take his notebooks and pencils out. “That’s really cool, we should do a photoshoot,” Stan smiled, doing the same and taking out his books. And before Ben could reply, the teacher walked in. He looked tired but kind. He was tall and bigger, like Ben. He wore a striped, blue button-up shirt and some black slacks. He looked professional and kind. 

Ben followed instruction as the teacher spoke, feeling much safer in this class.

December 7th, 5:24 pm.

Derry, Maine. Specifically, Maine’s comics.

Bev stared up at the sign to the Maine’s comics store. It was flashy, kind of intimidating. She looked at the mannequins wearing superhero costumes in the window, sighing as she decided to just walk in. She opened the door lightly, cringing at the loud bell sound. The worker at the counter waved at her. He looked friendly enough.

“Hey! Need anything in particular or just looking?” He asked as he cleaned the counters. “Just looking,” Bev smiled, waving lightly. She looked around at the small store, it seemed to have so much stuff in it for such a small place. Right by the door, there were some stools and a table attached to an ice cream counter. There was candy on a rack right by the ice cream, containing mostly Japanese candies. She walked further into the store, looking at the board and card games section. She hummed, thinking maybe she could get Ben a board game of sorts?

Bev was searching for Christmas presents for her friends. She really only had one, so that was easy. Ben and Bev weren’t the closest of friends, but they definitely hung out a lot. He quickly turned into her only friend. She sighed, wondering if maybe a comic book would be better? Bev wandered over to the comic books, not even knowing where to start. She stared hopelessly at the colorful books before she heard someone clearing their throat next to her.

Bev turned around, looking at the boy. She recognized him from her AP history class, his name was Stan. She smiled politely at him before he spoke. “You need help?” He asked. Stan wasn’t much taller than Bev, but he did have to reach his head down a tiny bit to look her in the eyes. “Yeah, I need to buy a Christmas present for my friend, Ben,” She sighed, looking through some books. “But I’m not sure what to get,” She shrugged, turning back to Stan.

“Oh, I met a dude named Ben today, cool stuff,” He smiled, searching through some of the comic books. He pulled out a random spiderman one. “This one is good,” He said, handing it to her. “I see, it’d be cool if we knew the same Ben,” Bev said, taking the comic book from him. She smiled, feeling way more comfortable than she was feeling before. “Ben Hanscom?” Stan questioned, not really thinking it was the same person. “Yeah, actually! He’s great,” She said happily, still analyzing the book in her hand. 

“Woah, that’s cool. You should give me your insta, maybe we could make a group chat,” Stan suggested, taking out his phone. He opened the app, going to the search bar and handing it to Bev. She took the phone in her hands gently, typing in her handle. She pressed the follow button before handing the phone back.

“Group chat sounds amazing,” She smiled, pausing before speaking again. “I should go now, thank you for the help,” Bev said, waving lightly. Stan waved back, watching her walk off. 

Friendships were blooming.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hey! i really hope everyones enjoying so far! <3
> 
> this chapters kinda short, but i hope it's good :D

**Author's Note:**

> hey! this is my first time posting any of my writing on the internet :O i would love feedback! <3


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